The Valley Concert Society presents the Vancouver Chamber Choir in concert in Abbotsford on Friday, March 15.
The concert is at 7:30 p.m. at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium, 32315 South Fraser Way. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and there will be a pre-concert talk in the foyer at 6:50 p.m.
The choir, founded and directed by Jon Washburn for 48 years, is now under the direction of Finnish conductor Kari Turunen.
Turunen’s choirs have won many international prizes and have produced critically acclaimed recordings over the years.
The program in Abbotsford will feature three main works and three shorter pieces.
Sacred and Profane is the title of an eight-movement work by Benjamin Britten. The texts are based on medieval poetry which are a mix of the sacred – reflecting on the death of Jesus – and the secular, focusing on love, nature and death.
Estonian composer Veljo Tormis has written Raua Needmine. The work captures the spirit of ancient folk songs with the rhythmic beat of a drum, and examines the discovery of iron, warning of its destructive potential when crafted into weapons.
The mass composed by the Swiss composer Frank Martin is scored for double choir. The arrangement weaves a glorious tapestry, the music separating and coming back together between the two groups in a rich harmonic blend.
In O süßes Licht (O sweet light), Vancouver’s Ramona Luengen has taken the first few lines of the Latin Requiem mass and transitioned into a German poem by Edith Stein.
A German-Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism, Stein became a nun and ultimately perished at Auschwitz. Her deeply emotional poem is a love song to the Holy Spirit.
Tickets are $32 general and $20 for students. They are available at valleyconcertsociety.com. Call 604-289-3377 for more information.
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